


Adopted

by Lisalicious



Category: Good Omens - Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett
Genre: Fluff, M/M, literally fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-02
Updated: 2019-12-02
Packaged: 2021-02-26 07:15:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,612
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21649669
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lisalicious/pseuds/Lisalicious
Summary: In which Crowley and Aziraphale are adopted by a cat.
Relationships: Aziraphale/Crowley (Good Omens)
Comments: 14
Kudos: 60





	Adopted

An odd feeling washed over the angel, and he couldn't explain it but he knew he was being watched.

Aziraphale was reading in the conservatory enjoying a mug of cocoa and softly playing classical music because Crowley had banished him from the kitchen when he'd offered one too many bits of helpful advice to his demon's attempt at cooking dinner for a nice date night in. He had insisted that the angel go relax in the conservatory (where he wouldn't be within easy earshot or line of vision) pushing his favorite mug into his hands.

And there he sat when the feeling hit and he simply looked up from the book he had immersed himself in to find a pair of golden-green eyes peering back at him from between the plants. Immediately his mind went to another demon because beyond the color the eyes were quite similar to Crowley's, and Zira didn't know if he should call for help or not.

Then the moment broke, and from the shadows emerged a small bundle of fur with pointy ears, a long striped tail, and an utterly unimpressed expression. A small, inquisitive meow followed next, and Zira stared at the cat in confusion.

"Hello," he said, unable to not respond to the cat's inquiry. "I'm Aziraphale. This is my home with my husband, Crowley. Who are you?" To which he made a disgusted noise with himself because why on earth would a cat be able to answer him other than to meow. "How did you get in here of all places? I assume Crowley brought you home, but he is rather particular about his plants." 

The cat made a trilling noise and took a few steps closer, and Zira thought that it was a rather pretty cat with slightly fluffy, multicolored fur and its head half black and half orange. He was also charmed by the paws and bib which were completely white.

"Is this why he sent me in here? He wanted me to meet you?"

In apparent answer the cat closed the distance between it and Aziraphale's chair, and before the angel could do anything to prevent it the animal leapt lightly up into his lap.

"But... You'll get your fur all over my clothes!" Not to mention it nearly caused him to spill his cocoa on his book. But the cat completely ignored his objection and curled up into a ball on him, and began to purr. "Now... Now see here, you... You... Furry little beast! How do you expect me to read my book with you there?"

The cat continued to ignore him, and Zira wasn't sure if he should call for help from Crowley or if he should not let on that he knew about the cat because it was supposed to be a surprise. It was rather nice, and warm, and the purring was pleasant. Maybe he would let the cat stay in place, just for a little while, and see if it would let him read.

Two chapters later Zira had finished his cocoa, and at some point he started petting the cat. He felt warm and content, and okay, maybe Crowley was on to something bringing it home for a surprise.

"You know, Angel, if you wanted a pet we could have just discussed it."

He jumped at the sound of Crowley's voice; apparently he had been so lost in the rather hypnotic moment of petting the cat that he hadn't heard his husband approach. He blinked up at him in confusion to find the demon looking down at him fondly.

"Whatever are you talking about, my dear?"

"The ball of fur currently taking up the prize spot on your lap." Which was when the cat appeared to wake up and notice Crowley, and it trilled when it saw him. It stood and stretched and then took a few steps towards the demon, though it clearly didn't want to leave the warm lap of the angel. "You do know I tend to my plants daily, angel."

"Of course I do." Zira wasn't sure why Crowley brought that up.

The demon chuckled and reached down to scratch the cat's chin. "Well, hiding her in here wasn't that great of an idea if you didn't want me to find her."

"What do you mean, 'If I didn't want you to find her?' You are the one who put 'her' in here."

"I didn't, you did."

"I assure you I did not, dear boy. I was quite certain that it was you that brought her home... How do you know she's a female?"

Crowley gave him a rather incredulous look. "Well, for starters she doesn't have balls. Also that coat coloring is pretty specific to girls."

Zira shouldn’t be surprised by the information that spouted out of Crowley’s mouth from time to time by now, but he couldn’t keep the shock from his face. "How do you know that about the coloring?"

"I just do." 

Zira narrowed his eyes at the demon. 

"Don't look at me like that. I was Warlock's nanny for eleven years, angel. I watch videos when you're at the shop, and I have a Mumsnet account. I know things!"

The angel had no idea what Mumsnet was, or why that would mean he would know things about cats. He was very close to asking for more information when the cat meowed because she wanted the attention back on her.

"She's a very demanding creature, isn't she?"

Crowley raised an eyebrow in amusement. "You say that, yet you've been sitting in the conservatory, reading, with her curled up on your lap."

"I told her 'no,' but she refused to listen."

"You realize you could always set her on the floor?"

Zira blinked up at him. "I… It was quite pleasant reading with her there, and she was purring, and I... You  _ did _ leave her in here for me to find, didn't you? It's why you sent me in here when you banished me from the kitchen."

Crowley laughed. "I didn't 'banish' you from the kitchen; I asked you to leave because you were hindering my cooking process. And I swear, angel, I thought you hid her in here."

"So, you did not sneak her into the flat to surprise me?"

"I promise you, I didn't."

"Then how on earth did she get in here? And how long has she been here?"

Crowley bent down to lift the little cat from Zira's lap, and to the angel's surprise the demon cuddled the animal close. "'Dunno. I think the better question is what are we going to do with her?"

He considered that question for a few moments before he comes up with an answer, and he frowned. "I think we should inquire around to the neighbors to see if anyone is missing their pet. Then I suppose, since we've discussed having pets before and we came to the agreement that they weren't a good idea for us, we should contact a shelter."

He didn't particularly like the crushed expression on Crowley's face, but he also didn't particularly like how the thought of turning the cat over to a shelter made him feel either.

"Angel... I-"

“You can’t possibly want to keep her.”

“Well, she will be a bit of a nuisance to look after, but I think it’s not a terrible idea to keep her.”

Zira knew that his husband was trying to sound unaffected and nonchalant, but he also knew better than to believe it. Especially when the demon was holding the thing he was trying to act unaffected and nonchalant about.

"Crowley, you know how short her life will be."

"Yes, I do, but-"

"We can't. We agreed that we didn’t want-"

"She chose us, angel! Claimed us... I think she already loves us."

He snorted because he was almost certain that the last statement worked the other way around as well.

Crowley was right about her, and what was worse, he knew that both of them were already attached to her. Sighing heavily, he stood up at looked around the room. She had been there, maybe less than a day, and the conservatory somehow felt warmer and happier. Even the plants felt more at peace, and they usually shook when the demon was present.

She was already a part of their family, so how could they give her up?

"What are we going to call her?"

His husband was bouncing the cat around like she was a baby that needed to be burped or quieted, and Zira watched on in utter amusement.

“What do you think, you furry little murder monster? With your chimera face and smudgy body? Are you going to kill all the bugs and vermin that terrorize the flat? Except the rats. Make sure you put the fear of Cat in them and let them go. But what should we… What do you think about Smudge?”

“Oh, now that’s not a good name for a cat,” Zira protested, but the cat actually perked up. It actually looked like she smiled up at Crowley. “Bastet or Tivali are much more tasteful, don’t you think? No? How about Dinah or Demeter?” She was utterly unimpressed by those names, too. “Ariel?”

“Smudge.”

Crowley could barely hold back a chuckle when the cat perked again, and the angel let out a huff in feigned disgust.

“Alright, Smudge, for now. I am going to find a more proper name for her, though.”

“He might want to, but the pretty little angel isn’t going to find anything that is good enough for the princess of shedding on everything, is he?”

Aziraphale was afraid that Crowley was right.

**Author's Note:**

> I am a firm believer that animals claim and choose their humans as much as humans do claim and choose them. More so, maybe. I was chosen by my cat at the humane society. I was looking at all the different cats they had when she reached out and grabbed my hand. I didn't pick her out. She picked me.
> 
> Having said that, I am absolutely certain that if any animal were to be looking for a home or pet parent, they would absolutely want to go live at the flat with those humans that have wings (animals can see them all the time even if actual humans cannot) Once either of the strange humans are won over they will have a good and pampered life from that point forward.
> 
> Also, Bastet is the ancient Egyptian Cat Goddess, Tivali is the name Cleopatra gave her cat, Demeter is a character in T. S. Eliot's 'Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats,' Dinah is Alice's cat in Lewis Carroll's 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland,' and the name Ariel means lion of God.


End file.
